Introduction

The Tokarev is a pre World War 2 era pistol of Soviet origin. it was developed in the late 1920s to replace the Nagant M1895 revolver. The designation TT-33 stands for Tula Tokarev 1933. The Tokarev was widely used during World War 2 and is one of the iconic Soviet firearms. Many Tokarev pistol and derivative models have been produced under license in nations with close ties to the USSR.

Design

The Tokarev is a single action pistol that employs the short recoil mechanism and has a locked breech. The design seems to be inspired by the FN Mle 1903 and Colt M1911 pistols, but differs in several areas. The pistol has a large steel frame, plastic grip plates and a steel slide with fixed sights.

Firepower

The Tokarev is a semi-automatic pistol that fires the 7.62x25mm round from an 8 round magazine. Outside the USSR various 9x19mm models have been produced, although the vast majority of foreign production was in 7.62x25mm as well. The maximum effective range is a few dozen meters.

Users

The Tokarev was widely used by Soviet forces during World War 2. After the war it remained in use and large quantities were exported and produced under license. The Tokarev was replaced in Soviet service by the Makarov pistol in 1952. Nowadays the Tokarev remains in use, especially in many third world nations.

Standard Tokarev variants

TT-30: Original USSR production model.TT-33: Improved USSR production model.Type 51: Original Chinese production model.Type 54: Improved Chinese production model.PW wz.33: Polish production model.M48: Hungarian production model.M57: Yugoslav production model with integral slide safety and 9 round magazine.Cugir Tokarov: Romanian production model, also known as TTC.Type 68: North Korean production model with slightly shorter barrel and slide.

Tokarev variants in 9mm

Tokagypt 58: Hungarian 9x19mm model developed for Egyptian police use.M70(d): Yugoslav 9x19mm model, also known as M65. The M70A has an added safety catch.M88: Yugoslav 9x19mm model with shorter slide and barrel. The M88A has an added safety catch.Model 213: Chinese production model in 9x19mm.
Model 213A: Chinese production model in 9x19mm with double stack magazine.